The childhood haunts of Pasadena’s local guitar god, Eddie Van Halen, have been transformed into memorial sites by legions of fans who have come to the Crown City to pay their respects to one of the world’s foremost guitar virtuosos after his death on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Although he was born in the Netherlands, Eddie Van Halen moved to Pasadena when he was 7 years old, living a few blocks north of the 210 freeway.
Folks have been coming out to his childhood home — which is no longer owned by anyone related to the late guitarist — leaving flowers, candles, empty beer cans and liquor bottles, as well as dozens of drawings and heartfelt expressions written in chalk.
A few blocks away, Van Halen reportedly carved his name in wet concrete outside of a liquor store as a teenager. Years later, it’s still in the concrete and now it’s become an attraction for fans since his passing.
One person even left a Fender guitar poised on the sidewalk.
The ornaments started appearing early in the week and have only grown with each passing day. Some left messages with the lyrics to Van Halen’s own songs; others simply thanked the guitarist for his music.
Van Halen attended Hamilton Elementary School, then later Pasadena High School, according to a 2012 interview.
Before the band was called “Van Halen,” it was “Mammoth,” writes columnist Larry Wilson, a life-long Pasadena resident who attended parties with the band long before they were famous.
Van Halen had been battling cancer for years before he passed away on Tuesday in Santa Monica surrounded by his family at the age of 65.